Why won't they say its asthma? - Asthma Message Board

heather47 · 09-15-2003, 03:44 PM

I am new here and have a few questions. I took my 9 year old son to the ER last night for a small laceration on the brige of his nose. After they cleaned the cut,the doctor asked how long my son had been coughing. He has been coughing 24 hours a day for almost 3 weeks and before that his 7 year old brother was.

3 of my 5 kids seem to take turns all year long, but whenever I take them in, the doctor on call (we have to wait awhile to see our regular doctor) always wants to know if we have a dog or a woodstove and gives us more allergy medicine. Allergy medicine (zyrtec, allegra, benedryl) and codeine syrup don't stop the coughing, neither did albuterol syrup.

The doctor at the ER gave my 9 year old a breathing treatment and he had his first coughless night's sleep. He slept so good, he was snoring. This morning the cough was back.

He was prescribed singular and an albuterol inhaler. By the way, my son has severe food allergies to all meats except chicken, eggs, peanuts,soy and fish. He also has hay fever and a feather allergy, but tested negative to animal allergies. His brother is allergic to fish for sure, but we haven't had him tested for the rest. I am allergic to all animals with fur, hair or feathers and have asthma during severe attacks.

We are going to go back to our regular doctor and will ask for a referral back to the allergist. Any ideas? Why are doctor's so reluctant to say it is asthma? The ER doctor thinks it probably is.

Anyway, if you can make soem sense of my rambling, I could sure use some info.

Thanks! Heather

Monday1954 · 09-15-2003, 07:22 PM

Tell your regular doctor just what you have written down here, maybe he doesn't see him when he is having an attack. This is one of the downfalls of not getting in to see the regular doctor all the time. I can relate though, it seems everytime I need to get in to see my doctor he is not in or booked. If it is nothing serious I go to what I call the "Doc in the Box" - one of those walk in clinics. Try to stay with one doctor if at all possible.

wrin · 09-16-2003, 08:34 PM

Other airway problems, even transient ones (like RSV) can be helped by breathing treatments.

That's why a good response to a breathing treatment doesn't necessarily mean he has asthma.

heather47 · 09-17-2003, 10:20 AM

He is taking singular before bed each night and isn't coughing much,if at all. I am hoping it is just seasonal allergies and we can control it with medication when necessary. He only had the cough though, no runny nose, sneezing or itchy eyes. We have had a very dry year here and smoke from the many surrounding wildfires and field buring.

HAAR · 11-02-2003, 01:18 PM

Your child may not need any medications at all. My kids experienced ten months of coughing before we figured out what the cause was.

Coughing badly was our smaller, more ill 3 year old who would take hours to fall asleep, needed delsym cough syrup every night, and had rib pain. She also spent numberous trips to doctors, had to take asthma medications, and antibiotics on many occasions during the course of ten months.

We then discovered our water company was putting chlorine into our tap water exactly the same date our kids started coughing ten months earlier.

As soon as we switched them to bottled water for their drinking, juice, etc., and made sure they had their own water bottles to take to school and friends homes, it took only 24-48 hours for the coughing to stop. No more doctors and no more medication needed. Our kids can't be the only ones in the world with this sensitivity to chlorine.

Just as it's well known now but didn't used to be all the facts about dust mites, wood stove, smoke cigarrette, smoke, etc., and how it effects people, the list needs to include chlorine tap water and the seriousness when ingested.

I hope this information helps you,
Heather